Intelligent SME.tech Issue 13 | Page 66

// SCALING UP //

Create a roadmap
Whether you ’ re building a bridge or customising an application , success starts with a plan that outlines what you want to achieve and how you ’ ll do it . With a detailed how-to guides to help you along , as well as vendors ’ own trained support teams .
“ You can ’ t break anything , so you might as well give it a go and see what comes out ,” added Toft .

GETTING IN AND EXPERIMENTING
WITH A PLATFORM OR SOLUTION CAN BE THE FASTEST AND CHEAPEST
WAY TO SEE WHAT ’ S POSSIBLE
AND WHAT MIGHT WORK
BEST FOR YOUR BUSINESS . map of your recruitment process in hand , you ’ ll be able to identify opportunities where repetitive human effort can be supplanted by an automated process .
“ For me , that map was in my head but it ’ s probably smarter to clarify your thoughts by getting it down on paper ,” said Toft .
Experiment with technology
In the app era , customising a software program is no longer the exclusive province of computer ‘ nerds ’ who know their bits and bytes . Getting in and experimenting with a platform or solution can be the fastest and cheapest way to see what ’ s possible and what might work best for your business . If you get stuck , there are plenty of online tutorials and
Think outside the square
If your hiring process is riddled with pain points , investing in an application designed to address that very activity would seem to be the best solution but it isn ’ t necessarily so . Other platforms and programs may perform similar functions just as well , or better and far more economically too .
Toft said : “ Using the ActiveCampaign automation platform to develop our own application , instead of buying a recruitment package , allowed us to increase our job candidate pool by 80 %, with 90 % of candidates showing up for their interviews , up from just 10 % previously . Indeed , we ’ re on our way to tripling the number of contractors in the next 12 months . This will enable us to scale up
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